Emma by Jane Austen * * * * *
Emma by Jane Austen is the fourth novel I have started for my self imposed Year of Austen . A year that was meant to be 2025 and is very clearly bleeding into 2026. After abandoning Mansfield Park out of sheer boredom, I decided to change tactics. I listened to Emma as a full cast audio drama , complete with background music and sound design, and that decision made all the difference. I wanted to enjoy myself again. At its core, Emma is a social comedy about confidence curdling into arrogance. Emma Woodhouse is twenty one, wealthy, clever, and comfortably installed as the centre of her small community. She is unmarried, not particularly interested in changing that, and sees herself as a benevolent organiser of other people’s lives. She holds court. People defer to her. She assumes she understands everyone better than they understand themselves. It is the perfect setup for mistakes, and Austen wastes no time letting Emma make them. Emma’s self appointed role as matchmaker give...